Business Report: SimVenture

Business Report: SimVenture This report is based on the engagement with SimVenture a business simulation which allows us as a team to setup and run our virtual company and learn about business and being an entrepreneur. This report evaluates team performance and decision making within the perspective of results achieved in the simulation at the end of three virtual years. This report also reflects the use of relevant entrepreneurial theories into practise while making decisions in the business and clearly stating the financial achievements at the end of it. The report takes you through the initial six months of the business in details where the crucial strategies were developed; thereafter the illustration is only on a half yearly basis. A question with many answers is that what drives people to turn into entrepreneurs to begin companies? Frequently we as individuals are not completely sure ourselves, and the answers to the questions are apt to change over time as our perception keeps changing. The reasons can be divided into two broad categories. First, the reactive reasons being things those are objectionable about working for others. They are the negatives that push us out. And secondly, the active reasons being things that are attractive about having our own business. They are positives that pull us out. Starting a new company is an immense challenge and to those with entrepreneurial impulse, it is very appealing (Kurtako et al, 2001). The attributes that a successful entrepreneur should possess while the start-up of a business is a competitive mind-set, one in which flexibility, speed, innovation, and strategic leadership are valued highly. With this mind set, firms can identify and completely exploit opportunit ies that emerge in a new competitive landscape. These opportunities surface primarily because of the disequilibrium that is created by continuous change. More specifically, although uncertainty and disequilibrium often result in seemingly hostile and intensely rivalrous conditions, these conditions may simultaneously yield significant product driven growth opportunities. Through effective entrepreneurial leadership, growth firms can adapt their behaviours and exploit such opportunities (Kurtako et al, 2001). It is interesting to see the differences between mind-set of an Entrepreneur, Manager and a Bureaucrat from the self explanatory Fig 1. Scenarios and assumptions at the beginning of the game Prior to the beginning of our business, we assumed to have a finance of  £10,000 for start up. The business was supposed to commence with a one man show by our virtual entrepreneur, who had already been working for 40 hours a week in another business. But as a team we had decided each individual to take the decision making responsibility of a particular department, with me being the one in charge of marketing. We initially decided to get our entrepreneur working part time for this new venture at a monthly salary of 500 £. He had been selling computers to friends and families for the past few years and always had a knack towards technology and assembling computers. Having only one sales order in hand for the first month, our entrepreneur intended to begin his business from home so as to maintain his costs as low as possible. At this stage the aspects which are of utmost concern are that he has limited knowledge in sales, marketing and about his local competitors. Our new business was inspired by the venture development stages, namely: New Venture Development, Start-Up Activities, Growth, Business Stabilization, and Innovation (Kurtako et al, 2001). Of these five stages the first stage consisted of activities associated to initial formulation of the venture, which has been mentioned above. The stages into which our business activities over the 3 years of simulation could be split into are Start-Up Activities and Growth. Start-Up Activities Stage The Start-Up Activity encompasses the foundation work needed in searching for capital, carrying marketing activities, taking up competitor analysis and developing effective entrepreneurial skills. This stage is typified by strategic and operational planning steps designed to identify the firms competitive advantage and uncover funding sources. With the availability of limited skills and working hours, in the first month we decided to outsource our firms competitor analysis and market research activities to specialized external agencies, the primary intention behind outsourcing being to get expert and skilled services efficiently. A legal advisor had been hired to specify the terms of a customer contract, not only keeping in mind the benefits of detailing the scope of work and means and methods of payment, but also with a future view to gain trust from prospective clients (a contract can also be seen as a marketing tool) and establishing a strong relationship with them while negotiati ng the terms of the contract. Other major customer awareness activities of the first month were to publish a press release for the launch of the company; joining a business networking group; and creating a standard website, designed and supported in-house to balance time and expenses of our working entrepreneur. Apart from these we had planned to take up a book based writing skills training course for our virtual entrepreneur, to provide him with the expertise of business communications which most small business owners lack in. And we planned to invest on a distributor research, because it is difficult and very expensive to reach a market with many customers with a directly employed sales force. Moreover distributors by and large aim to win business on sales rather than technical services. And our core competence being technical expertise we decided to use distributors to enhance our sales, although they bought products from us at a lower rate. After evaluating the suppliers on the criteria of their prices and flexibility to pay on account, we decided to choose ProSupply as our supplier because of its 60 days credit offering, at an additional expense of 0.5 £ per component. Apart from the legal liabilities of a limited company to maintain accurate information on its financial transaction which includes sales, purchases, income and payments by an organization, book keeping assists any entrepreneur to maintain the business on top of its competition by easily watching how the business is performing. Thus having a small scale start up business we decided to keep this particular activity in house. The second month of our business started on a positive note as we received two grants disbursed by the government,  £500 each: one was for training and the other was for research activities to be conducted. Although we had invested time on the application process for this funding, as a new company with limited finances this allowance was much needed to us. We also happened to receive our customer research report, following which we decided to choose our target customers to be Corporation. This decision was completely based on a few factors from our customer research report: market size, order size, order frequency and typical price. These four factors provided us inputs to calculate the average orders generated per year and the probable sales for each segment. Analysing our market research report (Fig 3) closely we noticed that there were much similarities in the product preferences sections of Corporations and ICT Businesses and both customers catered to a similar typical price ra nge of  £630-680. This made us decide to build a product with preferences that would suffice both the customer segments providing each one of them differentiation on certain product attributes. Referring to Porters generic strategies framework, we were serving a narrow market which demanded product uniqueness, thus we decided to use a differentiation focus strategy to increase our market share rapidly. Also a firm using a differentiation focus strategy enjoys a high level of customer loyalty which discourages other firms to compete directly. Analysing the competition and market report together, we designed our product offering to cater for both the target segments with the following attributes: extreme features, good quality, extreme performance, good style. Thus the product was differentiated for the Corporations with extreme performance, where they had demanded only for a good performance, and for the ICT Businesses with good quality and good style, where they had demanded for above average quality and above average style only. The unit cost of the product was  £452.62 and it was priced to the customers at  £679 initially, which was pretty high as compared to what our competitors were offering. I individually thought for market penetration a lower price was required. The marketing activities for this month were placing an advert in a local newspaper and joining a business community network where we could make our target customers aware of our unique selling points. Apart from this we spent our entrepreneurs remaining time in negotiating contracts with our distributors, namely: Norman, Harton Brothers, Rad, and Aztak, and manufacturing three product units in-house anticipating the future demand. We negotiated with our distributors in terms of size of orders per month, price of each unit of product and the methods of payments. The rationale behind choosing three of them as our distributors was because Normans had the maximum share in ICT Businesses followed by Solo Businesses and Corporations, Harton Brothers had 20% share in ICT Businesses and Rad captured 30%market share for ICT and Solo Businesses. Although Aztak held very little market share with ICT Businesses or Corporations but we still went with them, which I personally feel might not have been an appropriate move. Since at the end of the previous month, the number of enquiries were too low to sustain our business, thus the third month was very crucial for us where we had to take our strategic moves very carefully. Therefore we intended to hire a consultant to carry on a customer research, which we thought would help us find the reason behind the low number of enquiries. Along with a lucky break which resulted in good publicity for our company in the local media, this month we planned to go for a direct marketing campaign with 3000 basic leads bought as a database and promotional materials being designed in house. In the remaining time we planned manufacturing 9 products for future sales. On the fourth month of our business, we received the customer research results which provided us with the statistics of what our customers thought about our product and how did they hear about us. We used this information to fine tune our product design, work out the best marketing approach and get the price right with respect to our competitors. We understood that previously we had set up a very high price for our product to maximise short term profits, which was the reason for us to receive lower number of enquiries which hardly turned into orders. As quoted by Dolgui and Proth (2010), High price is accepted if it agrees with the value of the product perceived by the customers, otherwise such a strategy leads to commercial failure. While a low price can lead to a commercial success depending on the number of clients attracted by the product, but a low margin should be compensated by a higher number of items sold. Moreover with a high or a low price strategy the image of the items s old by the company is somewhat frozen and a long term price expectation is established, which can reduce the flexibility of the decision-making system. Thus justifying the aforesaid analysis we had to set the unit price of our product neither too high nor too low, at  £660, while we were operating in a range where customers were ready to pay from  £630- £680. On the marketing front we managed to attend the monthly business club meeting and exhibit ourselves at the Business2Business matters along with a direct marketing campaign to 3000 leads. Since by now our entrepreneur was overdoing his hours every month which was gradually making him tired, thus we decided to increase his part time working hours to 51 hrs a week and increasing his salary by  £100 to keep him happy. This was the fifth month of our business where we already had sales of 4 products from our last month and another new order for 4 products to be sold this month. The business was gradually taking its pace, but there were financial hurdles in front of us. Due to lack of cash in our account we were unable to pay our suppliers on time. The options we had to borrow money were either through bank loans or friends and family or overdraft or by selling equity. We thought the most viable option we had was to take a loan of  £50,000 for three years at an interest rate of 13% from the bank. Our monthly instalment to the bank summed up to  £1684.70 for three years which was lesser than our monthly estimated profit after selling units to distributors (refer Appendix 1). I individually thought we should have taken our first loan from friends and family instead of a bank because the interest rate was only 5.25%. Eventually in the next month we could have taken a bank loan. There was a business exhibition which was supposed to be held in the month of February, the next year. Having considered the fact that such events would provide us a platform to bring our product in front of the targeted customers and make them aware of it, we booked a place for our entrepreneur in this event, bearing in mind that Corporations were our primary target segment. Apart from this we also booked two more exhibitions for our entrepreneur to attend during the next month. One was an exhibition at New Ventures and the other was at Sparks. We heavily started relying on exhibitions primarily as a mean of marketing and advertisement for our business. We had a very clear marketing plan as a start-up company, which was the process of determining a comprehensive approach to the creation of customers. For developing this plan, the following elements were critical to us: Marketing research: determining who the customers were, what they want and how they buy. Sales research: promoting and distributing products according to market research finding. Sales forecasting: coordinating personal judgement with reliable personal information. Marketing plan: formulating plan for achieving long term marketing and sales goal. Evaluation: identifying and assessing deviations from marketing plans. (Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2007) As a marketing mix (refer Fig 5) for our Product offering we were having a strategy of focus differentiation to targeting only two business client segments. Our Price was set neither too high nor too low and was rationalized by setting it to  £660. We Placed our product through distribution channels, direct and indirect selling and also had a retail shop in place from the sixth month. And for Promotion we used individual communication channels like word of mouth, networking, public relations and direct marketing, and mass communication channels like exhibition, website and advertising. The sixth month was a fortune turner for us when we received 9 orders for the next month. Anticipating this huge number of orders, we already had been manufacturing products from the previous few months, even though at times we didnt have a single order to deliver. Our application for bank loan had been approved and we were able to successfully raise  £50,000 to clear all our pending bills. Having the right communication and marketing skills because of our previous training in the relevant departments this month we decided to create a small advert in-house, for a trade magazine. Since our business was growing bigger, this was the time when we had to decide relocating to a retail unit from the next month which was 100 sq. ft and  £208 of rent per month. Also convenience is an issue for most shoppers, whether its business or individual shoppers, and so sales location can have a major bearing on sales performance. Since we were only operating in a B2B environment we developed the fo llowing business model (refer Fig 6) where our products were reached to our customers either buy the distributors (which gave us less profit but large number of sales) or through our retail shop (which gave us higher profit but lesser number of sales). Because of the sudden rise in sales, hereafter we had to follow a model where most of our manufacturing had to be outsources and the remaining was to be built in-house. This month onwards we transited from the Start-Up Activities stage to the Growth Stage of our business. Growth Stage The Growth stage often requires major changes in entrepreneurial strategies, which is reformulated because of competition and other marketing forces (Kurtako et al, 2001). Thus now onwards our primary focus became the management of various departments involved in our business including the various stakeholders: direct customers, distributors, suppliers etc. The planning of operations was a major part of our start up venture. From the self explanatory Fig 7, we had adopted the bottom-up and the market requirements perspectives to design our operational strategy. The bottom-up view of operations strategy was to see strategic decision making as an accumulation of practical experiences. After all, our business would find it difficult to invent strategies in a total vacuum. Our ideas were formed from our previous months experience of dealing with customers, suppliers and their own processes. These were strategic ideas which emerged over time as our organisation begun to understand the realities of the situation. The market requirements perspective begun from the commonsense notion that our operations strategy should reflect what our business was trying to do in its markets. Our competitors competed in different ways; some competed primarily on cost, others on the excellence of their products or services, others on high levels of customer ser vice, others on customising their products and services to individual customer needs, and so on. Our operations function therefore had to respond to this by providing the capabilities which allowed us perform in an appropriate manner to satisfy the requirements of our market (Slack et al, 2007). After the initial breakthrough in the sixth month of our business, the next six months were more or less running at a constant pace, with 7-9 orders every month on an average. We did have to improve our product design based on the Customer Research results and by comparing our offerings with that of our competitors. We attended a marketing exhibition and carried out marketing campaigns with other sales activities almost every month to keep our enquiries and order numbers high. Apart from that, instead of failing to cater to our increased order rate every month, we kept manufacturing products by primarily outsourcing the major bulk of it at ( £452.62+ £80)  £432.62 per unit and partially building it in-house. By the end of the first year our business had again dried up in cash, thus making us unable to pay suppliers on time. It was time to consider a funding option again to cater to our growing business needs. As overwork was making our entrepreneur tired, this affected the sche duled tasks being incomplete in few of the months during this span of six months. We had the option of recruiting an employee for our business which I individually thought as the wisest option, but as a group we thought it wouldnt have been affordable for our entrepreneur in terms of time and money to opt for a new employee at this stage of our business. Thus we increased his part-time working hours and paid him a larger salary, doing our best to keep him happy and motivated. Previously and in future we not only did motivate him with only extrinsic factors like money but also encouraged him with intrinsic motivational factors like relevant training in various departments, namely: Production, writing skills, design and development, basic finance, business management, IT, communications skills, marketing and sales which helped him build a entrepreneurial identity of his own (enhancing his business qualities as an entrepreneur). In the first six months of the second year our main focus was to look out for the most feasible source of finance to our business. With the various options available in simventure, a bank loan of  £30,000 was the most viable option, which got approved within a span of three months. There was a noticeable increase in number of orders, the average being around 11 orders monthly, but on a couple of occasions the count had spiked to 16 and 17 orders which resulted in generating cash inflow for our business in the later months. During this period we also realised that the insufficiency of cash in our account was due to the fact that some of our customers did not clear their bills on time. Thus we had to take on the Credit Control strategy to closely observe all our customers who owed us money. A process was implemented which adhered to three steps. The first step was to send our customers a written reminder to clear their dues. If this didnt work the second step was to give them a phone call in the same regards. And if the first two steps failed then the final step was to take a legal action against the defaulter by hiring a third party agency who charged us 20% of the recovered money. In this process we had to compromise on shedding off a part of our profits rather than agonising our suppliers by failing to pay them on time, which could have lead to termination of our contract with them. During the last six months of our second year we had an average of 13 orders which was more than before. There had also been a dip in orders to 9 in number during the month of November and December. During this period we also decided to hire a few resources (namely: Premium Equipments, Premium Furniture, Premium Tools, Premium Transport) for our retail space to cater to the smooth running of the business as we were constantly growing. The marketing, advertising and sales activities were more or less similar to the previous half of the year, with our entrepreneur planning to attend more number of exhibitions for ICT Businesses apart from Corporations. The first six months of the third year saw a little decrease in orders, with the average being 11 orders a month. Because of this our entrepreneur had more time than the previous six months, which he decided to invest in an aggressive marketing campaign to create a base for the last six months of the third year of our business. He had also suffered from illness for 5 days during this period. The last six months of our third year was the span in our business where we received the most number of orders, the highest being 19 in the month of August. Our business had an added advantage, i.e. the economy became stronger resulting in rising of customers confidence in us. With Net Assets of  £240,077.47, Fig 8 depicts the financial health of our business at the end of the third year. And Fig 9 highlights the sales vs. Profit for the 3 years showing that although there had been continuous increase in sales over the three years, but the profit maximization was only achieved in the 2nd year of our business. This is because of the fact that with the increase in cost of sales in the third year of our business we didnt increase the product price, which resulted in decrease of profit margins, when compared to the previous year. Conclusion Throughout the span of this report we have been focussing on the competitive and entrepreneurial mindset of a start-up business owner, by recognizing and exploiting the opportunities that came across. We have been discussing about the entrepreneurs engagement in key areas of strategy, marketing, operations, finance and HR which enhanced the performance of our organization. The critical evaluation of decisions taken over the three years span of our business has given us an understanding of how differently various obstacle could be tackled. We begun from the star-up activity stage of a business simulation and happened to reach the growth stage in our business, by developing and nurturing our abilities as an entrepreneur while taking vital decisions at various junctures across the span of three years of entrepreneurship. Appendix 1 Distributor Order size Price / unit Fixed cost / unit Overhead Cost* Profit / unit Cost of total sale Profit per month per distributor Normans 10  £599  £452.62  £90  £56.38  £5,426.20  £563.80 Harton Bros 15  £594  £452.62  £90  £51.38  £8,139.30  £770.70 Aztek 5  £604  £452.62  £90  £61.38  £2,713.10  £306.90 Rad 25  £589  £452.62  £90  £46.38  £13,565.50  £1,159.50 Total 55  £2,386  £1,810.48  £360  £215.52  £29,844.10  £2,800.90 *Note: Overhead cost is estimated by adding Manufacturing cost (i.e.  £80 for any order above 25 units) and miscellaneous cost ( i.e.  £10 kept as a margin) Table : Distributor Analysis Source: Adopted from SimVenture

Internship

They basically wants to ensure that HASH branches which are in the right locations for their customers and on occasions this means that they need to close those branches where customers foot fall has fallen dramatically or there has been a shift in customer shopping patterns. And also raise the transaction cost from E to E. 0 In he name of the new fees were part of a providing â€Å"clearer and more transparent pricing. † The bank also said behind of cost cutting bank want to switching to be ‘hassle-free' , standard IS- turn on free accounts and free banking claim is ‘ridiculous'. They also said the closures branches were a result of customers using the branch network less than they used to â€Å"we are seeing a shift to customers using phone, Internet and mobile devices. † For this kind of reasons the HASH cope with cost cutting Q. 2. The Impacts of cost cutting on overall Financial Performance of HASH (comparison with past year)?Answer: For the Impacts of cost cutting they have closed about 70 branches in the I-J last year and more than 50 in 2011 and in 2013, 9 branches has been closed and declared with 85 closures in UK towns and cities so far this year. The bank has closed more than 200 branches in the I-J over the last three years and Derek French, of the campaign for community banking services, expressed some surprise at Hash's plans â€Å"These figures suggest that after a pause, they are now galloping ahead with closures, as in previous years. † It is thought a further 20 closure announcements will e made before October.When the branches of HASH at Alongside Penumbras and Conway- which is the only bank in the town with a cash machine are due to closed in February, 2013. Town leaders criticized the decision and called for the bank to reconsider the closing branches. Some of their state PM And Alongside the town mayor Bob Label said the closure was â€Å"terrible news† for residents, business and tourists. And he E xplained the impacts over economy by saying â€Å"l am very surprised by what the bank is claiming about the economic viability of Alongside branch in IEEE of the huge number of tourists who visit our town, especially during the summer months. So, all of them when the bank branches are closed their political members realized the regional economical condition is under threat. Also the impact on increase its charges for 700,000 small business customers, with many losing their free banking service. They said new fees were part of an overhaul of accounts aimed at providing â€Å"cleared, more transparent pricing. † Minimizing plan for cost cutting they increased fees of transaction as a result the small business customers is effected. They also said some customers would see their charges reduced.So called Free banking ‘Myth' the bank impose some extra charges on each small business transaction. The issue of â€Å"Free banking† system sparked controversy from last ye ar. Q. 3 The Benefits of cost cutting on the performance of HASH (I. E. NYSE and ELSE). The share pence of HASH (ELSE: HASH) (NYSE: HASH. US) fell by APP to IPPP dung early expectations. The 3% fall in its share price made it the leading loser among FETES 100 blue-chips. The bank reported profits of $22. Ban (EYE. Ban), compared with $20. Ban in 012, boosted by a range of cost-cutting measures.In total the bank made $1. Ban in savings by, among other things, reducing Jobs as well as cracking down on the number of staff taking business-class flights. The bank currently employs 254,000 full-time staff, down from 295,000 at the beginning of 2011. In total $4. Ban has been saved since 2011 , exceeding targets set by the bank. Revenue was stable, coming in at $63. Ban compared with $61. Ban in 2012, underpinned by a â€Å"resilient† performance in the global banking & markets business, as well as growth in the commercial banking division.Pay for chief executive Stuart Glover incre ased last year from $7. Mm to $mm while the bonus pool increased 6% to $3. Ban. The chief executive commented: â€Å"Our performance in 2013 reflects the strategic measures we have taken over the past three years. Today the Group is leaner and simpler than in 2011 with strong potential for growth. In 2013 we grew underlying profits by US$6. Ban, generated US $10. 1 ban in core tier 1 capital, achieved an additional IIS$I . Ban of sustainable cost- savings and declared IIS$9. Ban in dividends in respect of the year.Our strong capital generation continues to support our progressive dividend policy and reinforces Hash's status as one of the best capitalized banks in the world. † Earnings per share increased from app to app while the dividend was increased from app to app. Therefore, taking into account the hit to Hash's share price earlier, the shares may therefore trade on a PIE of 13 and offer a potential income of 4. 5% Of course, the decision to ‘buy' ? based on those ratings, today's results and the wider prospects for the banking sector ? remains your own decision. Internship Internship is an official program for the undergraduates or graduate students who work between certain periods of time which has a benefit to gain practical work or reason related experience. (www.internship.com, n.d.) In the other hand it is a way which helps to bridge the gap between â€Å"Academic† & the â€Å"Real† world. (Spring, 2011) And also internship can be defined as the opportunity provided for the students / undergraduates to link with the industry & upgrade the knowledge about industrial practices. This may become a practical and compulsory fulfilment of the degree program. Internship helps students to identify whether the career of interest is a â€Å"good fit† and also it will indicate the understanding about what career that suits you. In other words, internships can help you to decide if a particular career is something you're interested in or not. Internship program provides the opportunity for students to clarify career objectives and verify career choices. (Spring, 2011) Internships are a great way to prepare students for their future career. It gives them a deeper understanding of the path they want to take, and puts them in a situation in which they can learn first-hand what it feels like to work in their chosen Profession. Before University Students graduate they often need to complete the internship Program. (Carniol, 2018) Internships provide students with an opportunity to test abilities and attitudes toward particular material or career possibilities for the future. Students who has decided to participate in internship program can broaden their future career opportunities through networking ; establishing positive working relationship with their employers. These relationships can't build only through academics but, useful applications of the knowledge gained from the academics is a determinant for the real life career. (Spring, 2011) Students who took part in the applied learning of the internship had a greater consciousness about the issues in the society. (Seon-Young Lee) When the students have their own motivation for the community service through internship, personal growth can be increased greatly. (Wilson J. Gonzalez-Espada, November,2006) An Internship program involves different parties such as Students, employers/supervisors, program coordinators, sponsoring university ; the Government Authority related to the internships. Everyone involved in an internship program should have specified roles and responsibilities. (Jackel, December 2011) And also Internship Program Expectations are varying according to each parties that involved. A student expects an internship program should be stimulated intellectually and also it should be supported to enhance the skills needed for future employment. The program coordinators/departments expect that internship will be an opportunity for the students to apply classroom knowledge to the real-world setting. The employer/Company hopes the internship program partnership to be a path to determine hiring ; retaining talented students seeking permanent employment after the internship program. The university expects that an internship program will create a community partnership with a potential new employer, or to keep an existing partnership through productive and effective work done by university students which are interns.(Roger, 1979) Universities take a major role of in making internship program more appealing to and productive for the undergraduates by giving course credit for internships and also it is a way of facing the competition for the jobs. (Jackel, December 2011) General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University also has started providing internship opportunities for the day scholars since Intake 29. Upto now, Intake 29,30,31,32 ; 33 has already participated in their Internship Program. KDU has linked with National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) and introduced comprehensive internship program for the KDU undergraduates to bloom their talents with the industry. KDU moves undergraduates as interns and it is a partial fulfillment of the degree program that nearly go for 6 months Industrial Training and the most of the undergraduates work as permanent employees after the Industrial training. Sometimes, due to the involvement of NAITA, KDU can't control the overall process of the internship program. Therefore, KDU has to fulfill the requirements of NAITA such as Documents, Reports and Guidelines. We have conducted an exploratory study among KDU past undergraduates (Intake 31, 32, 33 -Logistics Management). According to the study we identified that the employment rate among the undergraduates have not achieved 100%. It means it may be personal reasons or the internship program has not supported for them. For example, some students may be faced some problems such as sexual Harassments or any other harassments from the company Supervisors during the internship program. Although the students want to quit the organization due to those reasons, students can't quit because of the NAITA requirements. So the students will suffer from stress. It means that the Internship program objectives couldn't be able to achieve as expected. That may be a practical problem of the internship program. And also there is a doubt whether the internship program has enabled the students to secure in the job market in the competitive environment. Although there are some researchers conducted in global context, There is no single research conducted in Sri Lankan Context and even in the KDU to measure and identify the student perspective affect for the internship program. So to overcome the issues and implement the changes, we conducted this research by finding the students' perspective of successful internship program. We took the population as the day scholars of KDU in Intake 31, 32;33 Logistics Management as follows; Population Intake 31 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 52 Undergraduates Intake 32†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 71 Undergraduates Intake 33†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 55 Undergraduates Total population †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 178 Undergraduates We selected the sample size as 80 Undergraduates from the population. 1.2 Scope of the study The scope of this study is to give an understanding about factors that affecting for the successful internship program on students' perspective with special reference to undergraduate day scholars of Intake 31, 32, 33. It will be helpful to become success in the internship program. According to our conducted Exploratory study we identified that the employment rate among the undergraduates have not achieved 100%. So to overcome the issues and implement the changes, we are conducting this research by finding the students' perspective of successful internship program. Therefore, this study will beneficial for undergraduates who are willing to enter in to industrial training to develop their qualified characteristics. 1.3 Justification of the problems The internship program has designed by the involvement of administrative lecturers of the Faculty of Management and NAITA. So they are making the internship program according to their ideas and perspectives. Therefore, the lecturers' perspectives are different from students. But the benefits are gained by the undergraduates, so they have the ability to look closely at the internship whether it is useful or not. If the internship program is successful then it doesn't occur a problem, but if the internship program is not successful there should be a change. As there is no single research conducted in Sri Lankan context and even in the KDU to measure and identify the student perspective of internship program, we decided to do the research based on the internship program by considering the undergraduate day scholars of Intake 31, 32;33 Logistics Management, KDU. 1.4 Objectives of the study 1.4.1 Primary Objectives To examine the student perspective of the internship program. 1.4.2 Secondary Objectives To examine factors affecting on successfulness of internship program 1.5 Research Questions This study tries to answer following research questions. †¢ What are the student perspective of the internship program? †¢ What are the mostly influenced student perspectives of successful internship program? 1.6 Research Hypothesis H1: Skill Development, Self-confidence and Attitudes developed through Internship Program affect the success of Internship Program. H2: Academic Preparedness and Evaluation is positively associated with internship successfulness. s H3: Career Development is a factor which affect for the successfulness of the Internship Program. H4: Compensation of the Interns is a major factor for the Internship Successfulness. H5: Experiential Education developed through Internship Program affect the success of Internship Program. 1.7 Significance of the Study The significance of this study is to identify the factors affected on successful internship Program on the perspective of KDU students and to identify the requirements of business industries. Also, this will able to provide better understanding about industrial training to the undergraduates and this will help undergraduates to improve their performance in academic studies and extracurricular activities. To identify the student perspective of the internship program, we have conducted an exploratory study among KDU past undergraduates (Intake 31, 32, 33 -Logistics Management). According to study we identified the employment rate among the undergraduates have not achieved 100%. It means it may be personal reasons or the internship program has not supported properly. And also there is a doubt whether the internship program has enabled the students to secure in the job market in the competitive environment. If there are any changes to do for the internship p rogram we can identify and it will be helpful to do the implementation. That's the reason why we are doing this research. CHAPTER 02 Literature review 2.1 Introduction When we consider about the global context, there are some researches which have conducted regarding the factors affecting for the successful internship program. The competency and motivation of all parties involved are indispensable for a successful internship programs â€Å"Being a valuable component of higher education academic program, Internship is believed to create win-win situation for the students, organization as well as the university. (Coco, 2000).Therefore we can identify three perspectives which divide the factors affecting for a successful internship program according to the previous researches.Organizational Perspective (to take advantage from the intern offering a least compensation)University Perspective (to give a good internship program and secure the job)Student Perspective (To have a secured job and good compensation)Therefore, we discovered the following factors under the above three perspectives.Organizational Pers pectiveEffectiveness of the SupervisionTask clarityUniversity PerspectiveEffective Design of the Internship ProgramInvolvement of the University regarding the Evaluation of Internship ProgramStudent PerspectiveSkill Development, Self-confidence and AttitudesAcademic Preparedness and EvaluationCareer DevelopmentCompensationIndustry ExposureTherefore, we can describe and justify the factors with the reference to the previous researches. 1. Organizational Perspective Effectiveness of the Supervision The strategic role of supervisors may determine the internship experience is positive or not. Interns' perception of supervision effectiveness is significantly correlated with job placement success and overall job performance. (Gabris, October 31, 2009) Effective supervision during internship such as â€Å"being supportive, demonstrates high work standard and competence, provide frequent feedback, provides more opportunities for individuals to explore career interests and resolve conflicts† are very important. (Taylor, 1988). The support from the supervisor is a commitment to the employee by the organization. (Mowday, 1998).It means a supervisor is helpful to make the commitment of the employee by showing the interest and as a representer of communicating and valuing of him or her in the organization. (Dixon, 2005) From the above previous researches we can identify that the Effectiveness of supervision is positively associated with the successful internship program. Task clarity In the task Clarity it includes the task outputs such as task goals and standards and also task activities which mean by how work is accomplished. The organization expect that the certain goals and standards from the intern. They expect that the intern will fulfill his or her task in the organizational goals and achievements. (Sawyer, 1992). Sometimes, poor planning of work assignments caused frustration among interns. (Rothman, 2007) And also unclear roles contribute to stress and poor performance of the interns. (Kahn, 1964)Therefore, developing a proper job description, (Crumbley, 1998)), providing a reasonable time frame for accomplishing tasks of the intern and establishing a clear understanding of what is to be accomplished can be helpful to the interns to fulfill the given tasks. (Rothman, 2007). From the above previous researches we can identify that the Task clarity is positively associated for the successfulness of the internship program. University Perspective Effective Design of the Program Designing an effective internship program may involve many different factors. When a program coordinator is developing Internship In considering the Internship component I feel Ilke there are a lot of opportunities In Quito that support a wide variety of my interests. want to work with a non-profit that works on a grassroots organizing level with the populations that do not fit into the mainstream of Comment: Make sure you specify what sector you would like to work in (business, arts, non-profit, government, etc. ) Comment: Once you have chosen a sector, Is there a specific focus that you would Ilke to work with?Education, grassroots, public service etc. Ecuadorian society. Specifically, an organization that works with internal migration from the Comment: The more specific you are, the better! Andes or Colombia due to Plan Colombia) or with prison populations would be perfect for me. I have significant experience with solidarity organizations but more limited experience with groups that function squarely within marginalized groups and I would like to be able to transfer those skills.Another interest of mine tha t I have done some academic work around but that I would really love to engage further is to look at the gender/race/class implications of the coca industry and the War on Drugs. Populations that are Involved In this are often Indigenous and very poor, and omen occupy a unique position In this ongoing struggle. while In Peru In 2005 1 worked with female prisoners, who were overwhelmingly there because of drug trafficking. Comment: Do you have any past experiences that you feel will prepare you for this internship?Working with people who are struggling to Integrate themselves into cultural norms which they do not naturally fit will compliment the work that will be doing In St. Paul with recent Comment: Mention any on-campus or summer experiences that relate immigrants over the summer and will give me further insight into how race and other identities shift in transition and migration. According to Its website HECUA offers internships with organizations that work with Comment: Do rese arch on past internship!Talk to 1 OF3 tne organlzatlon, or 100K on tnelr weDslte Tor information on past internships – include specifics on the logistics of the internship migration and prisons. Both Casa del Migrante (House of the Migrant) and CEDHU (a Human Rights, Prison Rights group) are on the list of possible placements incorporate education into their framework which is something that is very important to me. Through courses I have taken such as Experiences in Education and Urban PoliticalChange and also work I have done in high school I have come to highly value education as a means for social change. I have worked at the Comment: Discuss past internships that directly relate to your chosen field International Center of New York, and will do similar work at Neighborhood House and both these institutions have developed a commitment to adult education and a desire to connect adults with educational opportunities that will give them both survival skills but also a greate r insight into their situations and the world around them.I also want to work with indigenous populations, specifically the Quechua people, ho Comment: Incorporate your specific academic goals and relate them to your chosen internship make up a large percentage of the populations in both Ecuador and Peru. When I was in Peru I was in an almost entirely Quechua city and I would be very interested in juxtaposing that with a more diverse city in terms of race and class.I am very interested in how indigenous culture transitions into the city. In addition to having worked with Quechua communities in Peru, I also Comment: State your learning goals for the internship have many Quechua Peruvians in my family, and through watching their experience ave developed a keen interest into how that identity is somewhat malleable and how it plays out after leaving a majority Quechua world.Not only do I have personal connections to this group but I have done a considerable amount of research around the Quechua Indians as a social movement in Indigenous People's Movements last year and thus working in an organizing situation side-byside with this population would really compliment my academic research. Comment: Discuss your educational goals and trajectory – what classes have you taken that prepare you for this internship? In closing, tne perTect nt organization Tor me would De one tnat comDlnes polltlcal organizing with community work, i. . one that addresses both the structural and the personal sides of an issue†migration, drug trafficking, etc. An organization like this is what I have trained here at Macalester to admire and I feel like the combination of real world solutions and social critique would teach me a lot and give me an opportunity to contribute. Comment: You should also include any information you have about how the program will grade you on this internship – are you required to keep Journals, write a paper, do a presentation etc?

Introduce Yourself Essay Sample 100 Words Options

Introduce Yourself Essay Sample 100 Words Options The Upside to Introduce Yourself Essay Sample 100 Words A self introduction essay outline can be effortless to write since all you need to do. You don't need to compose an essay. It might seem intimidating initially, but writing an essay can really be a great deal of fun. Some crucial advice on how to compose an essay about yourself. Try to remember, your professor will read your paper. If he didn't give any specific requirements, you can select the topic on your own. Frequently students are permitted to choose argumentative essay topics independently, which can be both challenging and interesting at the very same time. When asking us how to begin an argumentative essay, many students forget that they have to begin with an outline. Interviewing our family members is the very best approach to have a crystal clear comprehension of our family background. Family history is extremely important to not forget. Identify an organization with which you would love to participate. It's a plan of your upcoming work, which needs to contain a list of the vital points and arguments you are eager to discuss. It can greatly rely on the variety of arguments you should discuss, academic amount of your educational institution and so forth. With the aid of such samples and templates, students may find a general idea about t he undertaking, understand its structure and get fresh ideas on the subject. No matter what's the aim of your essay there's a preset number of points that you'll be expected to deal with. In the very first part of your work you should explain what you're going to discuss and what instruments you're using to demonstrate your standpoint. If you would like to test it out, follow the hyperlink below. Use several forms of evidence from the subsequent list to convince the reader of your perspective. Type of Introduce Yourself Essay Sample 100 Words An anecdote is a brief story about a true individual or event. As a writer you just will need to speak about yourself and nothing more to a particular audience. With a suitable strategy, motivation and devotion of time, you will be sure to succeed! By knowing where you run from, you might have a knowledge of your family members. But long before you make these choices it is essential to make sure that the item or service you're offering is in demand (that individuals will truly buy it). From the view of the curr ent market, some projects decided to develop public chains on account of the fickleness of the marketplace. We share the exact same viewpoints, and he acknowledged the positive function of the PCTA in promoting the entire public chain market. Combine awesome combinations and carry out powerful exceptional actions. The Introduce Yourself Essay Sample 100 Words Game When picking a font, attempt to use the one, which is easy to read. Inside my experience, I've often discovered that the darkest paths are frequently the most illuminating. We've written a lot of detailed guides to make sure that you do. There is quite a bit more stuff to learn. Make certain you follow all the instructions if a specific formatting style is needed. Earlier he was a total newbie. Because introductions include a fairly hefty tax. The objective of such may function as a requirement for your own personal company or academic use. You've just got the transaction.

Racial Tensions By Dennis Prager - 922 Words

Oftentimes conflicts are only considered to be only an international difference in opinions, however, conflict can be present as a national issue. In the United States of America, although considered a relatively peaceful country, experiences national conflicts regularly. Dennis Prager says â€Å"Since neither black animosity nor the Left’s falsehood of ‘racial tensions’ is based on the actual behavior of the vast majority of white Americans, nothing white America can do will affect the perceptions of many black Americans or of the leftist libel.† This quote defends the idea that in most cases, the racial tension is one sided and without clear evidence. One of the most recent national conflicts deals with the shooting and killing of Michael Brown (a black man) by a white police officer (Holder Announces Ferguson Probe, Review of St. Louis County Police Practices.). Sense Perception and Emotion should be considered when evaluating this situation at Ferguson. The sense perception of the witnesses as well as that of the two involved in the physical conflict needs to be taken into consideration. The police officer could have believed he was defended himself, and Brown could have thought the same. The witnesses and the surrounding population’s opinions should also be considered. St. Louis County is notorious for their crime rate and their protest/ riot like movements. These riots can probably be credited for getting this situation national attention because of the actions and theShow MoreRelatedRacism In America Racism1096 Words   |  5 Pageseven realize. Reniqua Allen and Jeff chang both shares the idea of resegregation and how segregation in neighborhoods affect the quality of life as a minority. Jeff Chang argues that the black community is at a constant disadvantage due to the racial tension. He states the importance of living in a good neighborhood since it affects the quality of food, education, jobs, healthcare, and whether they will have anything to pass on to the next generation; however, the black community is mostly livingRead MoreThe And The Holocaust : A Breach Of Faith2649 Words   |  11 Pagestreacherous extermination. One teaches the Holocaust in order to understand stereotyping, prejudice, and racism. To understand the history of the Holocaust, historical counterparts, mechanics of genocide program and implications today in a multi-racial society, relevant films, publications or teaching materials are necessary while teaching about the Holocaust (Szonyi). During the course of learning about the Holocaust, one might utilize a series of texts, evaluations of materials and discussionsRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesOlivas-Lujan, Lujan Clarion University ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxxiii Kelly Ottman, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Cynthia Ozeki, California State University, Dominguez Hills Peg Padgett, Butler University Jennifer Palthe, Western Michigan University Dennis Passovoy, University of Texas at Austin Karen Paul, Florida International University Laura Finnerty Paul, Skidmore College Anette Pendergrass, Arkansas State University at Mountain Home Bryan Pesta, Cleveland State University Jeff Peterson, University

The Minoans and Mycenaeans Essay - 842 Words

The Minoans and Mycenaeans were both from the Greek era. They differentiated quite a bit between each other. While the Minoans were peaceful people, the Mycenaeans were brutal and warlike. These two civilizations help the people of today learn about ancient culture. Although the two places were varied much from one another, the cultures wrote the most understandable historical evidence about themselves. This paper will tell how these close regions compared and contrasted. The Mycenaeans existed within the years of 2000 b.c. It began with the people settling around the coastal area to provide good agriculture. This coastal area being near the Mediterranean. The Mycenaeans came after the Minoans, and were strongly driven by war, unlike†¦show more content†¦These gods are still educationally known today. The Minoans were named after King Mino, and originated from the island of Crete, which was more Asian than it was European. This island was based around merchants and trades, the Minoans top quality. The civilization gained much power from sailing to nearby islands and mainlands while dealing with the people there. Crete was a very fertile farming land, that was perfect for growing props. Because the land was so plentiful with nutrients, it was easier for the Minoans to reproduce and create a larger population. Eventually the population became so large, the land was stripped of agriculture. People sailed to nearby islands of the Aegean Sea and began lives there as well. The culture of the Minoans spread throughout the lands, the religion, and their government also were spread. While spreading their knowledge, the civilization became very advanced sailors. They became exporters of wine, oil, jewelry and finely crafted works. The Minoans peaceful nature had them focusing on art. They excelled at pottery, and shaping stones into jewelry. The architecture on buildings were defined and well thought over as well. Along with art, they had a knack for writing, typically it helps us figure out what a civilizations history was like. The Minoans explained little about their way of life in their writings which were called Linear A, Linear B, and Phaestos Disc. However, Minoans religion was notShow MoreRelatedThe Myths And Rituals At Mycenaean And Minoan Sites1792 Words   |  8 Pagesin the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing questions about Homer s epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of the mythological details about gods and heroes. Unfortunately, the evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of gods and heroes have been tentatively identified. 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The first was the Minoan Period (3000-1200), during this time, the Minoan royalty and wealthy lived in great, palace-like houses, which contained a number of rooms, and were usually constructed around a central courtyard. Many of these palaces were at least two or more stories high, and they were connected by huge, elaborate staircases. The walls were typically made with a bright white stone, and faced with stucco for decora tive purposes. The grand Minoan Palaces reached their most cutting-edgeRead MoreAncient Mediterranean Art Essays1098 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Aegean can be divided into three major groups. First, the Cycladic culture (Early Bronze Age), second, the Minoan culture (Middle Bronze Age), and the last one, the Mycenaean culture (Late Bronze Age). Cycladic culture was developed on Crete prior than the coming of the Greeks, Minoan culture was active in the area of Crete, especially around the area at Knossos and Phaestos. Mycenaean was developed on the mainland Greece (Aegean Civilization). A. Historical Factor At the beginning of AegeanRead Morehis112 r3 Ancient Civilizations and the Greek World Matrix1457 Words   |  6 Pagesone government Egyptians had many farms and growing livestock to trade for their tools to make their food. Minoan Bronze age civilization, Minoan religion seems to have been based on the religion of the Neolithic peoples they conquered in moving to Crete. Bulls were sacred to the Minoans, and bull-leaping was a religious ritual. The labyrinth at Knossos is the best-known example of a Minoan temple. They also had many different kinds of languages like the hieroglyphic script, Linear A, which consistedRead MoreThe Minoan Civilization : An Aegean Bronze Age Civilization2164 Words   |  9 PagesThe Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization that was rich with culture, art and architecture. 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The differences between the architectural styles of these civilizations are rather obvious, and these exist as a result of two important features. On the one hand, when developing its constructions, each civilization wouldRead MoreGeographical Location Of The Aegean World Essay1807 Words   |  8 Pagescoast of Anatolia. There are signs of earthquake damage at many Minoan sites and clear signs of both uplifting of the land and submersion of coastal sites due to tectonic processes all along the coasts. The Mycenaean citadel on Mainland Greece stands high above the Aegean Sea, surrounded by walls of stone so large they are called Cyclopean, as if only the mythic giant Cyclops could have moved them into place. Climate: Religion: The Minoans seem to have worshipped primarily goddesses, and their culture

Marketing communications strategy Free Essays

In the case, Benetton is using an offbeat and customer-centric marketing perspective in a highly saturated industry. In terms of retail clothing, there are high barriers in this market when it comes to getting a marketing message across to the inundated consumer. Therefore, what Benetton is trying to do, as shown in the case, is present itself as an outsider within this saturated market, in order to both appeal to the customer directly, and to confront them with issues of empowerment. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing communications strategy or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is related to the chapter’s mention of â€Å"Customer Empowerment– Customization: when a company produces individually differentiated products, services, prices, and delivery channels in accordance to the consumer wants/needs† (Chapter 12). The case also involves issues discussed such as heightened competition (retail fashion being a very competitive industry), industry convergence, and disintermediation, or removing the middleman and going straight to the consumers in terms of getting across a fresh and unconventional marketing message. Success behind strategy The success behind Benetton’s marketing strategy is the ability of the company’s marketers to place the company in an outsider role, and also a role of post-modern commentary on culutre. Essentially, this says to the customer that by identifying with the unique or different postmodern advertising of Benetton, and its messages of political and social concern used in advertising, they are identifying with a lifestyle, not just a brand. This was one of the early strategies that was then taken to such extremes by other 80s competitors of Benetton like Swatch and even Nike: by positioning the mainstream retail fashion company in a counter-cultural socio-political position through advertising, the individuation of the consumer is assured, as they relate their own individuality or difference with the uniqueness of the advertising. This led to a lot of success for Benetton’s marketing. In short, the success behind Benettons marketing strategy is the company’s ability to place its unique and controversial advertising brand as a lifestyle as well as a fashion choice. Applying Benetton’s strategy to another retailer Depending on the fashion retailer and the brand awareness of the public, a similar marketing communication strategy to that of Benetton could be either a good move or a bad move. For a company that already has some degree of guerilla, socio-political or counter-cultural marketing in effect, such as a youth-brand company like Ecko or even a monolith with a lot of money to spend on assimilating youth culture, like Nike, it may be possible to make the marketing communications of Benetton a success. On the other hand, if the brand is something like Abercrombie Fitch, J. Crew, or Tommy Hilfinger, this is a company that relates its brand not to socio-political turmoil and controversy, but to conservatism and the idea of unchanging classic ideals of fashion. Therefore, for this type of retail fashion brand with a lot of conservatism in its image, it would be more difficult to successfully integrate a marketing communications strategy similar to that of Benetton. The consumer would not be able to make a logical connection between a brand like Abercrombie Fitch, and an image of high shock value controversy, which could relate to cognitive dissonance on the part of the consumer, which is something marketers tend to avoid. REFERENCE Benetton—case study. Chapters 12-14 How to cite Marketing communications strategy, Essays

Business Society and Planet

Question: Describe about the business society and planet. Answer: Introduction explaining the Case scenario Our group has successfully identified an instance of ethical dilemma concerning to labor issue in sweatshops of a leading company. The ethical concern dealing with this situation surrounds instances of labor abuse at the Asian manufacturing units of Nike, a leading name in the footwear, apparel and bag company. Louisa; who is a newly appointed Product line Manager for Nike Asian units; is also the protagonist of the case scenario. During her business trip to these manufacturing units with of aim of lowering the product line cost; she came across such labor abuse instances and finds herself in a difficult situation when required to make a rational decision with respect to the pros and cons and the exact question she ought to address. Individual Script (Role Play) Narrator: - In our role play; we take up a situation whereby we are addressing to the problems encountered by the workers at the inhumane practices and Sweatshops in the Asian manufacturing units of a global company; Nike. Louisa in this case performs the role of the protagonist; who is also the newly appointed Product Line Manager of Nike. This personality has bagged the position creating a persuasive impression to the Company administration with her dedicated performance as the assistant production manager and with her loyalty towards the welfare of the company ("Dedicated test facility verifies performance", 2012). However; within few days of continuing with her new role; something really serious makes her worried. On her business trip; she has encountered that major sweatshops are undergoing practices of abusing workers in the contract factories of Nike operating in some of the major Asian countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and others. This situation keeps her complete ly bothered and disappointed and arouses her responsibility to take care of the issue and implement steps for its improvement. But biologically belonging to the group of Homo sapiens; she began questioning her conscience whether she is walking in the right track of improving the situation. Conscience: Our contract factories are undergoing malpractices. The workers are at the threat of making their ends meet despite of their well enough contribution towards their profession. This is not fair (Ogbebor Uruemu, 2015). The workers are the most important employees of the companies. How can they be exposed to physical and mental abuse? The factory owners are ought to follow the Workers Code of Conduct and take necessary care of the employees. Why arent they doing so? It is time for the company to do something. Louisa: But why should I bother myself for them? I am solely responsible to address Nike and work for its productivity and not for those workers working in the Sweatshops of Contract factories. Both my colleagues and the previous manager might be aware of it but choose to ignore. Conscience: no matter whether your previous managers cared or not. You holding the responsibility of the manager presently; it is your duty to care for your workers who help your company in making money at the cost of their sweat and hard work and ask your superiors whether they are aware of the issue or not (Banja, 2004). Cara: I am new to the post. It will create a bad impression to my workers and directors. If they dont agree to my instance; i might also be sacked. Conscience: you dont have to fear of losing your job as you are appointed for your caliber. Go ahead and share the issue with them. Adhere to your moral and ethical values that you have learnt all throughout your life till date. It is time to raise your voice against the exploitation of the factory workers. What if it would have been with someone from your family? Narrator: - Louisa decides going for her conscience and do something for the workers in pain. She organizes a meeting the following week with the Global Product Line Manager of Nike, Mr. Andy. (After a week at the meeting scenario) Louisa: Good morning Andy, How are you doing? Mr. Andy: I am doing well; what about you? Do you like your new position? What is about your work? Louisa: Yes; everything is fine with the new role except one issue haunting me. This is something serious and has to be taken care of before letting it turn serious. Mr. Andy: What is it? Please feel free to share. Louisa: I have recently found that at the production units of our contract companies in Asia; there is something seriously mischievous going on. This deals with the issues of the sweatshops of these contract companies; where the workers are facing threat to their personal welfare. Contractors are not following the code of conduct and are massively exploiting these workers both physically and verbally (Wolf, Delao, Perhats, 2014). There are also too low paid. More surprisingly; despite of the law strictly abolishing child labors; most of these sweatshops have employed child labors. However on a reverse note; those who are being paid low; in a way contribute totally to our payments and helps in uplifting our company image. I feel it is time for us to do something for them because only the same can help us retain our brand image and product quality. Mr. Andy: - I wasnt at all aware of it. Neither any of the employees knew of the same in the past days. Thank you for bringing this instance to my view. You are so truly regarded as an active company employee. I will discuss this matter soon with the board of directors and find out relevant ways to solve it which you also shall be a part of. Applying the Giving Voice to Values Framework Ethical Dilemmas This situation deals with an instance where a person enjoys the option of selecting only one option of two; both being morally correct and ethical. Defining ethical dilemmas, these situations deals with cases where a person encounters various options but none fitting the exact need of their condition helping them with an opportunity to make the correct decision (Cohen, 2007). Code of conduct, social norms, religious concerns; all form part of giving birth to situations of ethical dilemma. Non-maleficence, justice and Beneficence constitute the major values of ethics. Types of Ethical Dilemmas Before getting into the discussion of ethical dilemma encountered in the case scenario; it is important to know about the types of ethical dilemma prevailing ("Ethical dilemmas study", 2015). Truth Vs. Loyalty: Any person in a particular position is encountering a problem pertaining to a part of the workplace or anywhere else and knows that the situation is serious sand needs quick action but finds himself or herself in a dilemma between the obligations and promises attached to im/or by her role with the honesty and integrity of the situation (HongSik Park, 2011). Individual vs. Community: Such situation of dilemma finds an interaction or merging of the personal interest with the interest of the community where one has to give up either the personal or few terms against the interest of more people i.e. community (Herben Goldberg, 2013). Short term Vs. Long Term: this situation of dilemma deals with future outcomes being dependent on present results; especially future investment whereby a person seeks long term benefits against present profit (Kim, Yang, Hwang, 2014). Justice vs. Mercy: while mercy refers to a situation of being compassionate or forgiving with little or no punishment; Justice strictly adheres to strict and reasonable punishment. When we encounter something wrong and make a leap informing the concerned body about the same is referred to as justice; whereas mercy refers to forgiving a person because of your own shake or any personal relationship despite of knowing his crime (Rothchild, 2011). Ethical Dilemmas in the case scenario Truth vs. Loyalty: Louisa is found in the state of dilemma as if she avoids the situation without paying necessary attention; she will be supporting the truth and will be questioned by her conscience whereas if she discuss the matter or reveal it; she will become disloyal to her company which is helping her to earn bread and butter (Charles, 2014). Individual vs. Community: Fearing of losing jobs; all the workers at the factories of the Nikes Contract companies in Asia are working at low wages and harsh workplace environment. Louisa is in dilemma whether to make these workers aware of their rights and work place rules or to remain silent like most other companies. Short term vs. long term: If Louisa takes the short term benefits in mind; then her company as well as the contract companies will be able to earn high profit and keep growing but the situation will get reverse in near future with both encountering loss due to workers dropout (Charles, 2014). Justice vs. Mercy:The dilemma keeps Louisa haunting whether to report about the case to her higher authorities or remain silent and let things go as it is. Stake for the Key Parties The stakeholders are Company, customers, stake-holders, Louisa, Mr. Andy and the Employees. Customers:There is a high tendency for the customers to step back and boycott the product on encountering the company being involved with such malpractices Company: The brand name or goodwill of the company will be at threat and it might lose the investors as well as the customers trust (Faucher, 2014). Stake holders: - The Company will lose out the profit and encounter loss if the customers boycott the product because such will bring down the interest of the companys stakeholders. Louisa:- All the moral and ethical values of Louisa are at stake besides her relationship with her employees and her own individuality. Her job is also at a stake if her views collide with Mr. Andy. John: He might also end up losing his job upon being caught by the Board of Directors that such practices are in existence despite of his leadership. Employees: The standard of living and health of the employees are at a stake because of their long hour works and low payment (Faucher, 2014). They are working for the company at the cost of their happiness. Reasons and Rationalizations The unethical or malpractice in our daily lives; at our workplace and educational institutions are easily defended by rationalizations and reasons which create a barrier in sound judgment. There are instances where unethical persons have a tendency to favor such a situation by raising up arguments in favor of any unspoken beliefs or questionable moral values relating to an individual or any organization (Hoffmann, 2013). Taking such situations into concern; here are few rationalizations or reasons which Mr. Andy can raise to against Louisas view upon her confrontation with him regarding the same: Personal Reflection operating their factories in third world countries have become a recent trend among multi-national companies these days to encounter more profit (Czarniawska, 2015). Not only is Nike indulged with such; but there are many other internationally recognized companies who make sale of their product to Asian Countries with the help of contract companies. So Louisa has nothing to feel guilty about. Doing Good: So far as Louisa is concerned about the companys welfare; it is better to stay silent about such matter as till date the company has been able to maximize its success quotient with maximum profit and wealth of the shareholders by simply reducing the production cost ("Case presentations", 2009). On an addition; the extension of business operation by multinational companies in the third world countries; contributes to the increase in their GDP thereby uplifting the countrys economic condition. Mutually Beneficial: Sweatshops equally contribute to the welfare of the company as well as the welfare of the workers. It earns them livelihood and uplifts them from poverty. Because of the exchange rate; estimations say that workers working in factories of developing countries are paid much higher compared to those of indulged in some other profession in the same country. There wages are thus ethical as they enjoy better lifestyle than those working for local industries ("Explore Mutually Beneficial Partnership Ideas", 2016). Again they have a job than not having a job at all. Then what is Louisas point to protest when both parties are reluctant to carry with the terms? Locus of Loyalty:Bound to her work agreement; the main intention of Louisa is to look after the welfare of the company which calms her loyalty (Leisen Pollack, 2013). Therefore she should concentrate on her duty for the company than worrying about the foreign workers. Part of job: Andy sharing a high post; can order Louisa to stop worrying about such complicated issues as its not her part of job. Counter arguments to reasons and rationalizations Louisa can take a step to make Andy remember of the Workers Code of Conduct that clearly states that all the factories in operation are subjected to follow these working standards (Nelson, 2005). Such standards includes no-discrimination upon sex, caste, creed and race; anti-harassment both verbally and physically; safety and health; voluntary employment and others. Andy can be persuaded by Louisa by making him understand that though the prevalent work condition in the sweatshops of the Asian contract companies is profitable in the short run; in the long run the same situation will bring up huge loss for the owner company with the same losing its brand name (Rubenstein, 2014). The companys practices thus cannot be advantageous since it is hampering both the welfare of itself and the workers involved; by paying them low wages and forcing them to work under unhealthy workplace environment (Nelson, 2005). Louisa can make Andy aware that if the master company Nike does not take any action now; in the coming days the international as well as national compliance and regulatory bodies might turn up taking action against the company putting its brand name under stake (Rubenstein, 2014). Such a situation will be worse with more than thousands of workers losing their jobs. Most powerful counter argument Manual labor is the most important asset of any company even after industrial revolution. In such a context; standing away from eth case resembles supporting the prevalent situation of the workplace and under estimating the rights and dignity of the workers. One should remember that it is not ethical to treat human beings as a mean to attain ends; but to treat a ends in itself (Richman Reynolds, 2013). Thus being a reputed company; it is the duty of Nikes authority to take up appropriate measure to uplift the condition of the workers. Such counter argument should be addressed to Mr. Andy upon his raising rationalizations and reasons for supporting the scenario. Conclusion We all face some instances upraising our ethical dilemma in our daily life. While for some such a situation might arise at their workplace; for few others such condition might pop up their personal life and we face a challenge solving the situation skillfully. Unfortunately most fearing of further problems; avoid listening to conscience and chose decisions based on mercy. However; in this case; Louisa despite of keeping her job at stake; chose to skillfully handle the situation and counter reason her points to her boss successfully persuading him to look after the matter. He promised Louisa to discuss the matter with the Board of Directors so as to take their help for improving the workplace situation for these workers working in the sweatshops of the contract companies. References Banja, J. (2004). 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